TSA ‘detention pods’ currently being rolled out at major airports across the U.S. have biometric and object-detecting capabilities, according to promotional material from Eagle Security Group, the company that manufactures the devices.

As we reported yesterday[1], the pods, which critics have likened to cattle grids, are currently in place at Syracuse International Airport as well as Atlantic City International Airport terminal exits. These portals were designed and approved by TSA which is important,” said Syracuse Airport Commissioner Christina Callahan.

Travelers enter the pod where they are briefly detained before a green light shows and they are allowed to leave the terminal.

People who suspected the devices may be performing some kind of x-ray scan may not be far off the mark. Although such procedures are not currently in place, the pods do have the capability to incorporate “human/threat object detection/containment,” according to the official brochure[2]for the ‘Access Control & Exit Lane Breach Control Systems’. The brochure also brags that the devices can detect “threat objects as small as a dime.”

The pods can also function as biometric scanners. A video demonstration shows a user biometrically scanning his fingerprint before he is allowed to leave the containment area.

“The identity of the user is guaranteed via fingerprint, iris or facial recognition scans before they are allowed to complete their passage from non-secure to secure areas. The Eagle ACP (Access Control Portal) with integrated biometrics of your choice is a complete solution,” statesthe company’s website[3].

The pods can also be monitored by HD surveillance cameras[4] which “can be configured and accessed remotely, enabling multiple, authorized users to view live and recorded video at any time and from virtually any networked location in the world.”

Critics complain that the pods are just another expensive attempt by the TSA to treat the traveling public like prisoners. According to Karen De Coster[5], the pods are a way “to remind you that you are a captive” and are “meant to make you feel like a prisoner who cannot leave.”

Watch a video breakdown below of the system’s capabilities by blogger Linc Austin[6].